Poll

Opinion

In his state of the Commonwealth address, Governor Beshear laid it out fairly straight- we have to tighten our belts. Again. Like every responsible family in the Commonwealth we need to establish a reasonable budget, and exercise the discipline to stick to it. We've been doing a pretty good job of that for the last four years, although we haven't been shy about our bonding (which is borrowing money on a 20-year payback.)

Check out the latest scams and bad business in BBB’s February 2012 Hot Topics!

1.There’s a new twist to the BBB Phishing Scam. Businesses are receiving calls from someone who says they are with the BBB, wanting to help them remove a virus from their computer due to a phishing scam. BBB is NOT making these calls!

FRANKFORT– While no one can predict exactly what will pass in a regular legislative session, one constant can always be counted on: Diversity. Last week was a textbook example of that in action in the Kentucky House, with legislation ranging from wild pigs to alternative energy projects.

Valentine’s Day is right around the corner! Are you looking for love? Millions use dating and social networking sites to meet people. While many are looking to start a successful relationship, there are those using these sites to take advantage of others. Unfortunately, the anonymity of the internet makes it easy for con artists to use these sites to meet potential victims.

A Nelson County man asked me about charter schools, wondering why public charter schools don't have to follow the same rules as traditional public schools; and if charter schools are better (which he doubts), why don't the traditional schools change the way they're doing business to imitate charter schools? The answers lie in centralized control and mandatory attendance. Let's take a look at how Kentucky sets things up.

FRANKFORT– During the opening days of most legislative sessions in even-numbered years, the primary focus is getting bills moving through committee and readying for the governor’s budget proposal.

As many of you may know, however, this year is somewhat different, as the General Assembly is also taking on the once-in-a-decade task of redrawing the population boundaries for itself, the Kentucky Supreme Court and the state’s six congressional seats. It’s something all states do after each Census.

On Tuesday, Jan. 17, legislators heard from the governor. Gov. Steve Beshear presents his budget proposal to the General Assembly.

As I have reported in the past, our budget situation is serious and while the General Assembly directed cost-cutting measures and other efficiencies such as reducing personal service contracts and merit employees (those who are politically appointed) in the budget, the Governor vetoed those measures. Now, he will issue his solution to our state’s budget problems.

The five members of the Bullitt County Board of Education oversee a $100 million budget and make decisions about multimillion-dollar building projects. But they also make certain the individual child in the Bullitt County Public School district gets what he or she needs to successfully learn in school and beyond. All that is done in the face of shrinking state and federal dollars for education and tough economic times locally.

FRANKFORT – At the start of each legislative session in even-numbered years, the governor appears before the General Assembly twice: First, to give the State of the Commonwealth address and then, later in the month, to present a two-year budget proposal.

FRANKFORT – The first week of the 2012 Session was a combination of the ceremonial and the new.

We gaveled in on Tuesday of last week with the traditional establishment of the membership of the Senate and approval of our chamber’s rules. Over 200 bills have already been filed in the General Assembly and will start making their way through the committee process beginning in earnest this week.

BBB investigates thousands of scams every year! Our new Scam Source (www.bbb.org/scam) is a comprehensive resource on scam investigations from BBBs around the country, with tips from BBB, law enforcement and others.

You can sign up to receive our Scam Alerts by email, and you can also be a scam detective yourself by reporting scams you’ve discovered. We’ve divided scams up into nine major categories and picked the top scam in each, plus our Scam of the Year.